Just before sunrise on June 5th, Jack Merwede, from Lavallette and Whiting,
hooked in to a striped bass of a lifetime while fishing with colleague Mike
Chizhik on his 22' Shamrock.

After having run in to large school of bunker at
the mouth of the Shark River in Avon, Snag-and-Drop was the order of the day.
Two 25 lbers were already in the boat when Jack decided to try a unique surf¬†
fishing technique currently under development. Jack used a fish-finder type rig
with an 8/0 Octopus Circle, 3 ounce weight and bunker chunk on the end of a 7'
Ugly Stick with a Shimano 3500 Baitclicker, spooled with Power Pro. Certainly
more of a fluke rod than a striper rig.¬† Of course Murphy's Law prevailed as the
monster bass picked up the chunk from the bottom and took off for parts unknown.
Fortunately, Mike's boat handling expertise afforded some time to catch up with
the brute and wear her out . After a 20 minute chase and struggle, the 50
inch-50 pound trophy was brought to the boat. This fish was Jack's lifetime best
by almost 19 lbs.